Polad to exhibit at ZITF
The Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) is exhibiting at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) for the first time.
Polad was founded after the 2018 elections as President Mnangagwa invited leaders of opposition political parties to join in rebuilding Zimbabwe.
Polad principals said exhibiting at the country’s biggest showcase is an opportunity for them to dispel misconceptions surrounding its formation.
“This is precisely the reason why we said we want to come here and explain exactly who we are and what we are. I don’t think on a serious note that people would believe that the men and women in Polad belong to Zanu-PF. Zanu-PF membership is very open, if a person wants to be a Zanu-PF member they will go and join it,” said Mrs Lucia Matibenga.
“We are separate political parties that sought to engage the ruling party because it is prudent to do that. What better platform than sitting with people with two-thirds majority in Parliament. What we agree on here will see the light of day in Parliament. So, we are quite upbeat about what we are doing.”
Mrs Matibenga said since Polad’s formation, it has contributed policies through lobbying the government via the platform.
“The economic committee is an advisory committee to government on economic issues when government is coming up with policies. We are actually a key stakeholder who gets consulted. For instance, when the government was crafting the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), we were consulted and can go through the strategy and say we tried our best and we put in our input,” said Mrs Matibenga.
“We are working on electoral reforms, different from the noises that you hear that ‘no reform no elections’ but we are action oriented. We have consulted widely as Polad and we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, there are civil society organisations that have been working on electoral reforms for a very long time. We included their input and soon we are going to come up with a Polad position on electoral reforms.”
“We are tired of disputed elections, we are tired of conflict, we are tired of intolerance and violence as a result of people running for power or seeking to win elections. Through national healing we would like to inculcate a culture tolerance, politicking without mudslinging, politicking without hating each other, politicking without hurting each other,” she said.
Mrs Matibenga said some of the issues they deliberate on as Polad find their way to cabinet as the President appreciates the input from other citizens.
Another Polad principal Mr Kwanele Hlabangana, the leader of the Republican Party of Zimbabwe (RPZ) said while citizens are free to have different political orientations, there is a need for national consensus in building a brand new Zimbabwe.
“I’m worried about the brand Zimbabwe. We might differ politically but our identity is a common denominator where we say we are Zimbabweans first before a political party.
Patriotism should not be forced on you in a draconian manner, it must come naturally,” said Mr Hlabangana, who is also Polad’s International Relations and Re-engagement committee.
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